Drug makers build lobbying muscle, create bridges to congressional Democrats

WASHINGTON Long one of the biggest lobbying powerhouses on Capitol Hill, the pharmaceutical industry is making big inroads with the Democratic majority in Congress, according to a new report.

The report, which appeared in The Washington Post, recaps the success the drug lobby has had over the past year in keeping threatening legislation from making it through both houses of Congress and reaching the President’s desk. Among the bills that have died since Democrats took over as the majority party: legislation that would force the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to negotiate directly with drug companies for volume discounts on Medicare Part D drugs, and a bill allowing the reimportation of lower-priced drugs from Canada.

The industry’s main interest group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, raised its budget for lobbying by 25 percent in 2007, according to the Post, to more than $22 million—second only to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in dollars spent on lobbying. What’s more, noted the article, drug companies have eased access to congressional leaders by hiring some of their top staffers.